The Spanish air force took delivery of the first of nine EADS Casa C295 military transports last week. The aircraft joins 35 Wing based at Getafe AB, near Madrid, from where it will perform missions assigned to the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. EADS Casa has also taken orders for the 2,000kW (2,680hp) Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127G-powered transport turboprop from Poland and the UAE.
Source: Flight International
The US government has blacklisted more private companies over alleged connections to the training of Chinese military aviators, including two firms operated by former test pilots in the UK Royal Air Force and South African air force.
The troubled aerostructures manufacturer has become an important supplier of several key US defence programmes, including the air force’s new stealth bomber and the army’s next-generation tiltrotor.
With Boeing having delivered the first operational example of its latest F-15EX multi-role fighter, US Air Force pilots who previously flew the F-15C are beginning the process of transitioning to the new jet.
